Title: iPod Shuffle Challenge #2
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Harry Potter
Prompt: iPod Shuffle Challenge
Word Count: 1,287
Rating: T (Some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.)
Summary: 10 random ficlets about Harry Potter. I DARE YOU TO TRY THIS! Rules are inside.
WARNINGS: Some slash.

Author's Notes:
iPod Shuffle Challenge Rules:
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these, and then post them.

Disclaimer: I own nothing …

1) "Enter Sandman" – Metallica

A five year old Harry sat silently on the pile of ratty blankets that served as his bed. He was huddled into the wall with the blanket he used to cover himself clutched in his tiny hands. It was thin and moth eaten but it was the thickest he had. He always dreaded the time he would have to sit here in the dark. Alone. He didn't like being alone. Sometimes he was alone for hours, sometimes days. It had been seven days exactly. The young boy had counted how many times he'd heard his aunt call the rest of the family to breakfast. He didn't like the noises he often heard when all should have been quiet in the house. They were strange to him and he couldn't place them. They usually came when the family was asleep. And he feared it. And hid from it.

2) "Paper Gangster" – Lady GaGa

Harry stared at the documents sitting in front of him. He could barely believe his eyes. As the hero of the wizarding world it was apparently decided that he was required to take a spouse of… specific standing. He flipped through the folders – thirteen in all – and skimmed the first pages. They were backgrounds on brides the ministry found suitable. Rubbish all of it. All these girls were silly and ignorant or the children of people in the minister's pocket. Harry had no intention of marrying one of these girls. He refused to sign away his life. Not after all he'd gone through for the wizarding world already.

3) "I Want It That Way" – Backstreet Boys

It was maddening. Absolutely maddening. All Harry wanted was for the one that he was in love with to admit that he loved him too. Draco was all he'd ever wanted in a partner. But as time wore on, they drifted apart. Actually, Draco had drifted away. No, pushed Harry away. Well Harry was having none of it. He was going to change Draco's mind and he was going to do it by the end of the week. Even if it drove him completely insane. And he was going to start right now.

4) "My Life Would Suck Without You" – Kelly Clarkson

Harry opened the door to his apartment. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of the person on the other side. 'Well, at least he has the decency to look embarrassed.' He thought. "Am I to believe you're sorry?"

Marcus nodded, scratching the back of his head. "I just can't live without you. It took me all of five minutes to realize that my life completely sucks when you're not in it."

"So what took the other three days?"

"Shame, mostly." Harry cracked a smile and pulled Marcus in the door.

5) "All or Nothing" – Theory of a Deadman

He turned around and froze. In front of him was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. His heart pounded, each beat slowing until it stopped completely. Everything stopped. For one moment in time he saw everything in perfect clarity as if the world around him was a still photo. It had been over ten years since she was in front of him. In the next moment everything started up again. He cleared his throat and slowly made his way over to his former classmate. "Er, hi." He managed

Hermione turned. "Hi Harry"

6) "Music Again" – Adam Lambert

Quiet frankly, he was depressed. Yes, the great hero of the wizarding world was depressed. And lonely. So lonely. He'd been holed up in his tiny apartment in Diagon Alley for the past two weeks. As he shuffled into the kitchen in search of a non-existent meal, he glanced out the window that overlooked the alley. He did a double take as he spied a shock of blonde hair as it glinted in the summer sun. There , in the street was the most amazing sight. He felt… renewed. He saw this person many times that week. One day he cleaned himself up and arranged a meeting with this person. It only took a moment for this person to change his life. For the better.

7) "Safest Place To Hide" – Backstreet Boys

Harry sat on the back porch of the Burrow. He smiled as he watched his wife chasing their three young children around the yard. She looked so radiant in the gentle sunlight. He thought back to the day he'd made her his wife. Lost in his thoughts he didn't realize she was sitting beside him until she placed her hand in his. He turned to her and smiled again. Looking into her eyes he felt a welcome tug at his heartstrings. In her eyes, he saw his entire world. He knew, without her, he'd be completely lost.

"What are you thinking about, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"You," he replied softly. She smiled back to him and leaned in to gently press her lips to his. He gathered her into his arms. Held her close as though his life depended on it. And when he thought about it, it did. For the first time, he felt completely safe.

8) "I'll Never Break Your Heart" – Backstreet Boys

It had been years since The Break-up. The one that ended it all for him. She'd broken his heart into so many pieces that he knew it was impossible to fix. Cho had run off after six years together with the seeker of the Ballycastle Bats, one Cedric Diggory. He supposed he wasn't surprised. They'd been Hogwarts sweethearts. Not many couples from back then were still together – most who were had arranged marriages. However, his head was hardly ever in line with his heart. He'd pushed people away for so long that Charlie had taken him by surprise. The second eldest Weasley had come out of left field in his life. Of course, Harry couldn't be happier. It was four years since Charlie had changed his mind about his heart. They'd married after only seven months of dating. The rest of the Weasley clan couldn't be happier. Now they really were family.

9) "Bring Me To Life" – Evanescence

Severus had always fascinated Harry. In a deeper, almost darker, way than anyone else before. It was when he was at his lowest that Harry found his chance. The older man's soul had been slipping into himself since the end of the war. People still seen him as only a Death Eater, despite the evidence that he was really on the light side. It still proved a challenge for Harry. The ex-Head of Slytherin, for all intents and purposes, had been so emotionally dead to the world that he never let anyone in anymore. In the end, all it took was a rather strong bottle of smuggled in Russian Vodka and the walls came tumbling down. One bottle and a long night had breathed life back into the old bat.

10) "Rockstar" – Nickelback

Harry laughed at the irony of it all. After the war he'd abandoned the wizarding world, fed up with his life and fame. He'd grown out his hair, dyed it blonde, ditched the glasses and changed his name. Nine years later he was stretched out on a hotel bed with a fiery red-head on one side and a lovely little blonde on the other. The room was scattered in clothes and he was still hung over from the night before. Life as a rock star was definitely more appealing than life as a hero. He grinned as he thought of the fame he actually enjoyed. Closing his eyes he went to sleep, chuckling at the thought of the looks on everyone's faces if they saw him now.

- 30 -

THE END

chapter updated: February 16, 2010